CHAPTER 4

“Bellona. Short for Bell.”

Solishar, who had been repeating it several times while trying to scoop soup, abruptly set the spoon down with a clack.

“Who the hell gave you the name Yanke? Who?”

Her innocent face as she answered obediently was so absurd it was now irritating.

“Is that what you call a friend? Giving you a name like that?”

“……Someone who claims to be my friend said it.”

At her cautious reply, clearly trying to read the room, Solishar pressed his temple as a headache crept in.

“Tell me everything you heard from that bastard.”

He had absolutely no intention of being this kind to a woman who had betrayed him.

Since last night, when the fortress was turned upside down, his physical fatigue had been matched by severe mental exhaustion.

Most of all, he had nothing to say to the woman who stabbed him, refused to answer anything, and only kept repeating another man’s name.

And yet, somehow, he was now listening to everything that had happened this morning.

As if it were before she stabbed him.

“Your friend got your death sentence revoked?”

“……They said I tried to harm someone important. The Crown Prince, I think… something like that.”

Bellona, whose memories were completely sealed, hesitated before putting her spoon down as well.

The girl who had been starving enough to light up at the sight of food instantly lost her appetite.

“Eat while you talk.”

“They said I did.”

“Yeah. I said eat while you talk.”

Seeing that she still didn’t seem willing to move her hands, Solishar deliberately picked up his spoon again.

If he wanted her to eat, he had no choice but to eat as well.

“That important person… are they dead?”

“No.”

“Were they… very badly hurt?”

Only now, after everything that had happened today, did it truly sink in how serious this was.

Bellona, who only liked the name she had just been given by the man beside her, lowered her head.

Why did I do something so terrible?

No matter how much I think about it, I just don’t know.

“They’re perfectly fine.”

How does he know that so confidently?

He sounds so calm, like it has nothing to do with him.

Is it because he’s a warden?

With distrust filling her eyes, Solishar pushed the steaming bowl of soup closer to her.

“They’re originally a tough person.”

“But if it was serious enough for a death sentence, then they must’ve been terribly hurt—”

“With that arm? As if.”

Bellona looked down at the arm he pointed at.

What was wrong with it? It was a bit scratched, but it seemed perfectly fine.

“The judge lied. It was never something that would lead to execution.”

He said it casually.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t even a lie.

Originally, Solishar had only intended to report Bellona after she clumsily stabbed him and refused to speak, then uncover the mastermind through proper legal procedures.

Trading information for reduced sentencing was common.

Even with attempted assassination of the Crown Prince, if the victim chose to negotiate, no one could interfere.

Solishar let out an irritated laugh.

Not only had they frozen what the Crown Prince had decided, but they even sealed memories and spoke of erasing records.

Every word coming from the girl he brought back gave him a headache.

Completely deceived by the judge’s reckless lies, Bellona had lost all spirit and still wasn’t eating.

That annoyed him even more.

So he forcibly placed utensils into her scabbed hand.

“That guy is walking around just fine, so just eat.”

“How do you know?”

“I saw him. Eat.”

Earlier, he had scolded her for being able to eat at all, and now he seemed ready to force her if she didn’t.

What does he want me to do?

He’s such a strange man.

Bellona reluctantly took a spoonful of soup.

Even though she was upset, it still tasted good.

The scary warden’s expression softened slightly.

“What other nonsense did the judge say?”

Annoyed by her timid eating, Solishar pushed the sausage plate toward her.

He had bribed the innkeeper for it, so she had to eat it all.

“They said I shouldn’t try to learn about my past…”

Solishar scoffed.

That was exactly what he needed to know.

“And that a warden would come to give me work…”

“Do you even know how to work?”

“No. But if I’m told to, I’ll try my best.”

Feeling like she was being mocked, Bellona answered firmly.

“Just focus on eating.”

But again, he only pointed at the food as if teasing her.

“How do I talk and eat at the same time?”

“Figure it out. You were doing just fine earlier.”

Bellona stabbed a sausage with her fork.

“Anyway, that’s what they said. Anyone who approaches me claiming to know me is a liar. I shouldn’t trust them. They said they’d come find me later.”

As expected, she spoke slowly while chewing.

Solishar rubbed the back of his neck.

It was obvious they were trying to completely isolate her from him.

At the same time, they planned to keep her ignorant, turning her into a fool who knew nothing.

They would make her believe the judge was her only friend and have her reveal everything.

A life worse than death.

Their thinking was cruel and vicious.

“Hey, Warden.”

Solishar, who had been thinking quietly, responded.

“Yeah?”

“Call me Sol.”

The woman, whose memories and records had been sealed and even her name and hair mocked, answered without hesitation.

Her clear, transparent eyes still looked straight at him.

It twisted something inside him.

The warden’s name is Sol.

The scammer judge who claims to be my friend is Momona Kien.

The kind innkeeper is Ann, her husband is Paul, and the daughter I thought was a maid is Nancy.

And the criminal is Bellona.

Among all the names she had learned, Bellona liked hers the most.

It simply felt pretty.

And far better than the strange name Yanke.

So she decided not to make a new one.

Instead, she stepped out into the inn courtyard and examined the few belongings Momona had given her.

Most of them were trivial items, nothing important enough to withhold from a criminal.

While rummaging through her bag, Bellona found a glossy, scratched hairbrush.

There was also a round object made of the same material.

What is this?

A mirror.

When she opened it, her unpleasant green hair reflected back at her, and she quickly shut it.

Next, she pulled out a fountain pen.

A large “H” was engraved on it—completely unrelated to the names Bellona or Yanke.

“What does this mean?”

She didn’t know.

There was a pen, but no notebook or paper.

After searching further, the only other thing she found was a key wedged deep in the corner.

“What is this?”

It was an ordinary key.

A small number was engraved on it.

Not large, not decorative.

“2, 19.”

With no memories, neither the key nor the numbers meant anything.

It simply lay in her palm, slightly worn.

Was I someone who liked brushing my hair?

She tried brushing it, but it was so tangled the brush wouldn’t go through.

So she just stuck it into her hair and fiddled with the key.

What could this be?

If I find the door this key opens… will I find someone who knows me?

“Where did you get that?”

Sol had approached before she realized and asked.

Except during meals, he always wore a mask and hood.

Bellona quickly clenched the key in her hand.

“It’s mine.”

Her lips pouted as she emphasized her few precious belongings.

“Ah. They gave it back to you?”

His tone suggested surprise.

She loosened her grip slightly and showed it.

“Do you know what it’s for?”

“It’s a key.”

“I mean what it’s used for.”

“How would I know?”

Sol shrugged lightly.

Why does he talk like he knows things?

He’s really strange.

Bellona quietly smiled to herself and clenched the key again.

“Why are you wearing that? Decoration?”

He reached out and tapped the brush stuck in her hair.

Bellona stepped back, avoiding his hand.

“It’s for brushing.”

Sol smirked slightly.

“Then why not brush?”

“It’s tangled, so it won’t go down.”

“Ah.”

Not only was he strange, he also liked teasing.

Bellona frowned and tried again to pull the brush through her hair.

But no matter how hard she tried, it wouldn’t budge.